Tag archive for ‘restaurant review’
Dining: Lotus Cafe
I like the furniture at Ikea, but their concept of self-assembly sucks. Pictogram instructions that make no sense. Extra screws and bolts. That stupid hex key. It’s torturous.
Thankfully, the assembly process at the newly opened Lotus Cafe (8073 Georgia Ave) is a smoother operation. The joint’s Vietnamese noodle dishes (and there are oodles of them) […]
Dining: Thai Derm
Kicking it in Thai Derm — that unassuming hole in the wall on Bonifant Street — is like chilling in a long-time neighbor’s living room. Oh wait, that was a long-time neighbor’s living room.
Here’s the deal. The dive restaurant’s large bay window overlooking Bonifant Street, and its obscure, curtain-covered main entrance, sandwich the front […]
Dining: Silver Spring Beer, Wine & Deli
Lunchtime at the Silver Spring Beer, Wine and Deli really tests one’s strength, agility and patience.
It’s a freakin’ full-contact sport. Workers bob and weave behind the small wooden counter, taking five orders simultaneously. Customers jostle to place orders or to grab a seat inside this small, drab Georgian Towers joint.
And what does one get for […]
Dining: Adega Wine Cellars & Cafe
Finally, The Penguin ninja crew graduates from the nachos, waffle cones and chicken nuggets that are traditional downtown Turf cuisine. It sure took long enough.
But what can we do? (And by “we”, I mean me and part-time Penguin ninja Southside Evan.) Penguins can be stubborn and sometimes skeptical about restaurants that others may laud.
But for […]
Dining: McGinty’s Public House (redux)
Last spring, The Penguin did a lyrical number on downtown Silver Spring’s only Irish pub. This year, McGinty’s finds poetic justice.
Spring is the time to be thinkin’
About flowers and bunnies and drinkin’
Green Guinness on tap
With your bangers and mash,
Plus whatever the bartender’s bringin’.
So The Penguin strolled down to McGinty’s
On a weekend so damp and so […]
Dining: Lebanese Taverna Cafe
Cool blue walls, granite floors and massive windows make the Lebanese Taverna Cafe a cheap stop en route to the movie theater. The Silver Spring outpost of this local chain has decent Middle Eastern food, wine on tap and a menu that goes on forever.
The traditional mezza platter for two ($10) includes smooth hommos, pureed […]
Dining: La Bamba
Practical food is easy on the wallet and quiets the stomach. But does it satisfy the tastebuds? That depends on what you order.
La Bamba (8241 Georgia Ave), a practical Guatemalan joint, knows how to work the seemingly easy stuff. The chicharron de carne (below, $8) hits with massive chunks of mostly lean pork, although any […]
Dining: Samantha’s
If Samantha’s restaurant is Long Branch’s best kept secret, then maybe Long Branch should keep this one to itself. The University Boulevard cafe dishes out bland, boring Mexican-styled food at unsavory prices.
Hey, at least the tortilla chips are decent (and free). The thin crisps are served with a warmed salsa that’s more like runny tomato […]
Dining: Asian Bistro
Good Chinese food is like good Italian food: It’s all about the sauce. And at this downtown restaurant, they know sauce.
The secret ingredient — in Chinese food, not Italian — is usually oyster sauce, a thick and savory goop. Kitchens that go with low-end stuff end up with bland brown gravy that’s mostly soy sauce.
But […]
